The CEC is calling on community leaders, former and current local, state and federal representatives, political candidates and party leaders, union leaders, academics, industry leaders, business leaders, and church leaders, who oppose the policy of bail-in and support a Glass-Steagall separation of banking, to endorse the following statement, which will be submitted to the Federal Government’s Financial System Inquiry:

The CEC is calling on community leaders, former and current local, state and federal representatives, political candidates and party leaders, union leaders, academics, industry leaders, business leaders, and church leaders, who oppose the policy of bail-in and support a Glass-Steagall separation of banking, to endorse the following statement, which will be submitted to the Federal Government’s Financial System Inquiry.

Glass-Steagall for the Common Good!

In response to the call by the Financial Systems Inquiry (FSI) for a second round of submissions, we the undersigned submit the following statement:

The purpose of an economy is to serve the common good of all of the citizens taking part in it. That common good is a moral imperative, which ranks above the supposed rights of a “free market” to rule at the expense of the increasing impoverishment and unemployment of an ever-growing number of Australians. What is the purpose of a “financial system”, if not to serve that common good? Is it just, for instance, or moral that the speculation in derivatives by Australia’s banks led by the Big Four and Macquarie, now exceeds $24 trillion as against a GDP of only $1.6 trillion? We do not need more of the same financial deregulation which has helped cause the present crisis, both in Australia and worldwide, nor the “bail-in” of Australian depositors in order to bail-out that worthless $24 trillion.

Therefore, we as Australian citizens demand the following:

That there be no bail-in of depositors in order to “save the banks”.

That Australia must separate legitimate commercial banking functions from the speculative activities of “investment banks”, as did the Glass-Steagall law in the United States so successfully from 1933 until its repeal in 1999. Such commercial banks serving the interests of the average Australian should be backed by the government, but the speculative banks should be left on their own to sink or swim.

That to anchor such a system of private commercial banks, Australia must also establish a national bank typified by our old Commonwealth Bank, where our government directs credit into the real physical economy of agriculture, manufacturing, and infrastructure projects which provide for the common good, including employment opportunities for all.

In making this submission, we take note of the recent call by Pope Francis for a sweeping reform of the global financial system based upon the “primacy of the human person” rather than the “dictatorship of an impersonal economy lacking a truly human purpose”, and that “it is the responsibility of the state to safeguard and promote the common good of society”.

Whether one holds a professed religious outlook of any persuasion, or is simply a person of good will, those universal principles which emphasise the dignity, worth, and physical well-being of every single human being—in this case every single Australian—must be the basis upon which any financial system must be constructed.

Some of the things I give myself a pat on the back for doing pale into insignificance compared to the monumental contributions of others, like Mr and Mrs Bricker! Just look at this video to see the inspirational contribution they have made to create an absolutely remarkable young lady. (Wet eye warning.)

A sweeping gagging order issued in Australia to block reporting of any bribery allegations involving several international political leaders in the region has been exposed by WikiLeaks.

The prohibition emerged from a criminal case in the Australian courts and applies throughout the country. It was issued by the criminal division of the supreme court of Victoria in Melbourne “to prevent damage to Australia’s international relations that may be caused by the publication of material that may damage the reputations of specified individuals who are not the subject of charges in these proceedings”.

The Australia-wide gagging order is a superinjunction, which means it also contains a clause insisting that the terms of the order itself should remain secret. It was issued on 19 June and states: “Subject to further order, there be no disclosure, by publication or otherwise, of any information (whether in electronic or paper form) derived from or prepared for the purposes of these proceedings including the terms of these orders.”

The Wikileaks commentary is here https://wikileaks.org/aus-suppression-order/press.html. Basically, the government has ordered the cover-up of their biggest corruption case - one apparently involving the bribery of leading figures in Malaysia, Vietnam, and Indonesia - as a matter of “national security”. Because that’s what that phrase means now: the global elite covering up for each other’s crimes.

Superinjunctions are an affront to open justice. They are used by the privileged to stop us peasants from sniggering at them and by governments to cover up their crimes. Fortunately, the internet gives us a free market in legal jurisdiction, making such instruments worthless. And we should use it to publish every such self-suppressing injunction until judges get the message and stop issuing them.

Until next time,
dream big dreams,
plan out how to achieve them,
be continually executing your plans,
enlist people to your causes,
travel and/or read widely, preferably both,
all the while observing what you observe
rather than thinking what you are told to think,
think well of your fellow man,
take time to help your fellow man,
he sorely needs it and it will help you too,
eat food that is good for your body,
exercise your body,
take time to destress,
and do the important things
that make a difference -
they are rarely the urgent ones!